Dark Side of Thailand Tourism | Documentary Idea (Looking for collaborators)

by Molly Hobbs
(China)

Posted: March 22, 2016 - I'm hoping the go ahead with this documentary over the summer and am looking for some people that might be up for help with the pitching of, or filming this idea.

When I travelled to Thailand this spring I was upset to find lots of the corals dying, beaches post moon-party covered in rubbish, and stories of animal abuse all in the name of tourism (monkeys performing shows, elephant riding, tiger drugging etc etc). I want to work with animal sanctuaries as well as locals trying to keep the beauty of their local area, and talk about the positive and negative aspects that such high levels of tourism has brought to the country.

If you have any advice on what you would want to see in a documentary like this, or if you have any contacts that may want to be involved please do get back to me.

I'm a new film maker, and have been making shorts for a newspaper back home, however I'm currently looking to be part of a bigger team and have a number of ideas for Asia which I can discuss if you are looking for an extra pair of hands.

Please contact me via the comments link below.

Thanks!

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May 21, 2018
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Update
by: Katariina

Hi, Molly.

This topic is tip of the iceberg - and could open door into much more.

I am an aspiring film maker having recently taken the decision to focus in documentary film (after years of theatre and short fiction and voluntary work in communities and associations with either environmental or social agenda - if not both as theyre connected).

I took very similar notice as I travelled in Thailand last January. I tried to ask and discuss with people about the situation and it seems that the (self)destructiveness is very rooted in both the locals (or thai people in Thailand) and big part of the tourists. And its also very structural (objective).
The water was partly soaked with litter (esp. plastic bottles) and I happened to see a man driving a long tail boat cast a bottle into the sea.
Well, that is just one part (or consequence) of the problem.

I shot footage during my visit in Thailand, though not only around this topic.

I did my internship in a documentary production team where I worked in every phase of the film from the idea and research, production, writing, shooting, editing to delivery & distribution.
I am currently looking for collaborators worldwide.
If this idea is still in progress (or pending) and youre looking for collaborators, write me an email: jumppanen.katariina@gmail.com

Sep 23, 2017
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To Crispin
by: Khadija Seth

Hi Crispin,
I'm a film student.
Just went through your work on your link at Vimeo, just wanted to get across my thoughts that they're amazing.
Couldn't stay without acknowledging such great work.
I hope I cross paths with you someday and get to work with you.

- Khadija

May 14, 2017
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Still working with this
by: Anonymous

Hi Molly,

sounds interesting. I'm a docu-reality director/producer, and worked as a assistant director and production manager with comedy/drama series in my native country Finland. I have written, produced and directed a series that was nominated as the best document reality show few years back. Now my goal is to change to documentaries, but I've been too busy to write my own yet. This sounds interesting. With a right pitch, I might get someone to fund some of this too. I also know lot of cameramen and other staff, too.
I have some ideas with this. We could first show the positive aspects what tourism brings to the community (work, money, education), but then show what happens to nature.
You can find my alternative email address below, if you still need someone to your team. tradicallyflawed(a.)yahoo.com
Contact me and I can tell more about me and my ideas. Good luck with this.

Apr 09, 2017
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still working on this?
by: DENISGUZZO

Hi! still working on this? I'm a 4k cinematographer based in Singapore, the idea is interesting...

Jan 21, 2017
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Thailand
by: Joshua Peck

I recently travelled to Thailand to work in safe houses for kids, and because of that I have contact with local people and translators etc. Ive been a videographer professionally for almost 4 years now and starting to look into shorts/documentaries. I also have some footage of Thailand on hard drives still from my trip. Let me know if you're interested in working something out! my email is:

joshuapeck1@icloud.com

Jun 01, 2016
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Amazing!
by: michael yadchuk

Your documentary is an inspiration to the whole world. If you start a gofundme page, i'd be happy to help the documentary be a great success.

Apr 11, 2016
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Love to get on board!
by: Crispin

Hi Molly,

Looking for collaborative projects to get involved in. I am mainly a documentary filmmaker but have also worked on international commercial projects in Ghana and fictional shorts in the UK.

If you would like to see my work you can go to my Vimeo page https://vimeo.com/crispinhutton or my website www.thinreelstudios.com I would recommend looking at my showreel for a summary of my style and the span of my experience.

Got a variety of sound and camera gear and cinema lenses etc

If your still looking into this project please drop me an email at chutton@thinreelstudios.com

Many thanks,

Crispin

Apr 05, 2016
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Got software to put it all together with?
by: Callum Simpson

Hi there,
That sounds like a really good idea! Do you have any software such as Adobe Premiere Pro that you can edit everything together with? Simpler, free alternatives also exist. If you need a hand, you could always ask someone with said software to edit it for you. Again, there are many good alternatives for Adobe software, so don't splash out for nothing! :) try things like Serif MoviePlus starter edition.

Good luck!

Mar 28, 2016
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Thailand Doc
by: Jonathon

I noticed the same issues while traveling throughout Thailand. My goal was to go back and create a doc highlighting Thailands natural beauty juxtaposed by the devastating toll of tourism. Another interesting idea I was hoping to explore is why tourists become so self-destructive while visiting. Many people injure themselves and I saw a few people OD + one drowning while on an Koh Phangnan. Anyway, I've got video + sound gear and I think there is great potential for this idea - I just lack the funding! Would love to colloborate!

Mar 22, 2016
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resources
by: Desktop Documentaries

Thanks for posting Molly. Sounds like a great project. Do you by chance have any existing gear? (camera, editing software, etc)

One idea for you to drum up support is to edit together a simple trailer that you can share around on social media, posts like this, etc. It wouldn't take much. You could use existing stock footage with some simple graphics & music. Much of it you could probably find for free on sites like archive.org, freemusicarchive.org and freeimages.com.

Don't wait on others to get you going. Just do what you can with what you have and people will eventually join up once they see you're taking it seriously.

Good luck!

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